Book Review: The Carl Rogers Reader / Carl Rogers: Dialogues

Together, these two texts provide an exhaustive and important overview of the life, work, and ideas of one of the most influential psychotherapists of our time. In addition, because of Rogers' self-stated acknowledgement of the impact of phenomenological-existential ideas as foundation to the development of much of his own thinking and psychotherapeutic practice, these texts are of primary significance to the readers of this Journal.

The Carl Rogers Reader collects together the most important writings under several thematic headings. Of these, I found the papers collected under the headings of 'The Therapeutic Relationship', and 'A Philosophy of Persons' to be particularly impressive and of great value to the examination of the phenomenological-existential underpinnings of Rogers' work. In addition, his

paper, 'Ellen West – and Loneliness' is of particular relevance as it provides Rogers' critical response to Binswanger's famous case study. As might be expected in a venture of this type, there is a fair amount of repetition of ideas and themes throughout the text, though, to be fair on the editors, it is hard to imagine how such could have been avoided other than by extensive editing of sections of papers which would have done serious injustice both to the style and 'flow' of Rogers' writings. Oddly, I found the section entitled 'Speaking Personally' the least successful – and most irritating – in the entire text. For an author who placed so much importance on open and 'non-defensive' colloquia, Rogers the man emerges, for me, somewhat shadow and shadowed figure, given to passing off homilies and vast generalisations that seem to obscure more than reveal the man. Hopefully, a worthy, non-hagiographic biography will emerge in the none too distant future. Nevertheless, taken as a whole, The Carl Rogers Reader must be deemed a success in providing a particularly clear overview of Rogers' work. If there remains a strong sense of Rogers' tendency towards mawkishness as writer and if his unrelenting faith in the good or 'positive' nature of mankind threatens to paint as distorted an image of his subject as those who have emphasised the 'negative', there is still a great deal to warrant our respect and gratitude, not least his exploration of the metaphysical values at the heart of the psychotherapeutic encounter which stands out as guide post to any worthwhile existential analyses.

Carl Rogers: Dialogues is, to my mind, an even better book. The text contains transcripts of a number of encounters, both verbal and epistolary, between Rogers and an impressive variety of influential philosophers and theorists, including Martin Buber, Paul Tillich, Michael Polanyi, Gregory Bateson, and Rollo May. Each of these is a valuable record and, in some cases, impressive in terms of the topic discussed and the views presented. Perhaps the most significant dialogue in the text, and certainly the lengthiest, is with Rogers' recurring 'adversary', B.F. Skinner. I cannot overestimate the importance of this particular set of dialogues, especially as they reveal a side to Skinner that many phenomenologically-oriented readers will find particularly illuminating, lucid, infuriating, and thought-provoking. Skinner, for once, allows his humanity to emerge even to the point of recounting a joke about Rogers that strikes at the very heart of Rogers' philosophy and practice. Indeed, as has been suggested elsewhere by several authors, Skinner's rebuttals and critiques are not entirely dissimilar to those that might be uttered by someone with a phenomenological-existential orientation and remain suggestive of the vast potential in a phenomenological evaluation of Skinner's ideas. Indeed, on the strength of the dialogues contained herein, one yearns for the publication of a text containing and evaluating all of the debates between Skinner and Rogers. Equally impressive, though much shorter, are the encounter between Rogers and Buber and the correspondence between Rogers and May. These are both of particular relevance to the readers of this Journal and, once again, bring out significant areas of convergence and divergence of thought that bear direct import to existential analysis. What struck me upon reading these is how clearly such authors put their fingers

on important weaknesses in Rogers' thought. Similarly, and more surprisingly, they reveal how often, in spite of his oft-stated stress on listening, Rogers fails to truly 'hear' what is being said either by going off on another tangent or, more irritatingly, by acknowledging a difference in perspective but likelessly failing to explore and clarify the area of disagreement.

Nevertheless, in spite of these considerations, Rogers emerges, in both these texts, as a gifted and supremely 'human' theorist and practitioner whose work demands respect and study. Whatever we might think of the specifics of Rogers' theories, their worth and impact remain unchallenged as pivotal contributions to contemporary psychotherapy. I have no hesitation in warmly recommending both books and feel certain that all readers will find a great deal in each to savour and contemplate upon.

Ernesto Spinelli